Secrets
by Rosep16
Summary: Lucy is the CEO of a major Lacrima Trading Center and is suddenly kidnapped by a very dangerous man. After her confusing capture is put to an end, she is forced to stay with Special Agent Gajeel Redfox until this criminal is put back in jail. During this time bonds are made and broken, lies are told and secrets are discovered.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

I slammed the door shut behind me and groaned. It was another long day at work. Being the CEO of FTI was hard work. Especially with all of those idiots running around, but hey, they got the job done. I made it into the kitchen and shrugged off my jacket onto the counter adjacent to me. I noticed some mail and a package on the table but decided to open it up later. I opened the fridge and smiled, having the greatest idea in the world. I grabbed the jug of milk and the jelly jar, closing the fridge door behind me, I made my way over to the bread box. I reached above me, into one of the many cupboards in the state of the art kitchen, and grabbed the peanut butter.

Oh, peanut butter. I thought. The most amazing product in the world. I rolled my eyes, smiling, and started making a sandwich.

Once my sandwich was finished, I poured a glass of milk. I liked a lot of peanut butter and the only way to balance it, was with good old fashioned milk. I was about to take a bite when a bright, golden light filled the room. I sighed and put the sandwich down.

"LUCY~!" was the only warning I got before I was given a huge hug from behind. I stumbled under his weight and knocked over my glass of milk. The white liquid was spreading over the counter in a very abstract way.

I growled slightly, "Loke..." I warned. He immediately let go. I turned around to face the celestial spirt. He was wearing his usual fancy suit and sunglasses and his fiery orange hair was in disarray. He had big smile on his face but his eyes showed that he was sorry about the milk.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, turning to clean up the milk. "What's up?"

I heard a sigh of relief from behind me; He knew he was safe from the famous Heartfilia wrath and was forgiven. He came around the counter, smiling, and took the paper towel I had been using to clean up the milk with, and started cleaning up the milk himself.

"I was just thinking," He answered. "That you could use a break from work, because I know how much you've been working lately, and me being the most considerate person/spirit in the world-"

"You wanted a sandwich didn't you?" I smiled, seeing through his ruse.  
He smiled as well, knowing that he'd been caught. "Only if my princess doesn't mind."

"Please, you know it doesn't bother me," I said while getting the ingredients back out. "I mean its the least I could do for you."

"THANK YOU LUCY-HIME~!"

I laughed.

"So... how was work?" He asked, throwing away the paper towel and siting at the table.

I smiled broadly. "We've just set up a new proposition to trade magic lacrimas to America. It's still in the beginning stages, but I have a good feeling about this."

"Oh my god, Lucy, that's amazing! I'm so proud of you!" He came over and gave me a huge bear hug. I hugged him back just as hard. "You're parents would be proud of you too," He whispered.

I pulled back, tearing up. "You think so?"

"I know so."

I smiled. "Thank you."

My mother died when I was very young from an incredibly rare sickness that they couldn't cure in time to save her. She was a celestial mage too, and when she died, I inherited her keys. I've collected more over the years, but I use her's the most.

I was raised by my father to be a "proper" yet "modern" woman. He was some high government official so I rarely saw him. He was devastated by my mother's death and never remarried. He resigned his seat for a lower one and took some government desk job. He had hoped that by taking a different job, he could spend more time with me, but her kept getting pulled back into work, sending me off to lessons. I didn't mind much, at least he was trying. After a few years, I saw even less of him. He was constantly on the phone or in his study. While he was doing that, I went to my fathers lessons and afterwards, was getting magic training from one of my mother's spirits, Capricorn. He trained me to the point of where I didn't even need my spirits to protect myself. Of course he went a little overboard at the time, because when show and tell came along, I was the only 8 year old who knew how to create things out of magic, like a dog or a gun. The latter got me into trouble with the teacher... and my dad... and Capricorn.

So it wasn't the perfect childhood, but it was the only one I had. And I was pretty happy with it. But then...

My dad was on his way home from the office. He called ahead, and told the babysitter to have a bag packed for me by the time he got home. He wouldn't say why, but said that we were going on a trip ad wouldn't be back for a while. He said he was only a few minutes away.

He never made it home. The police report says that he was stopped at a stoplight when a man that was crossing the street shot him 5 times in the chest. He was dead moments later and the guy got away. My babysitter became worried after a half an hour. Right when she was about to call the police, they called her.

In the end I was parentless with a huge life insurance coverage that I couldn't touch until I was 18. But I didn't care. I fell into a deep, dark place, and I wasn't quite sure how I was going to crawl out of it, or even if I wanted to. I refused to talk to anyone, I hardly ate, and my magic was getting out of control. But could you blame me? I was 10 years old without any parents.  
The head of the government agency where my father worked at was apparently friends with my father way back when, and was willing to take me in. There was no godparent stated in the will, no distant relatives, nothing. I had nothing but a vague knowledge of this man, Makarov. He was a short, old man, who dressed in well kept suits but always wore a weird stripped hat. He was plenty nice, and had a grandson a about the same age as me. They both tried to cheer me up and get me out of the hole I crawled my self into, in vain I might add. They never gave up though, even when I acted out, using my magic on them, only for them to use theirs back on me.

In the end, however, it was Loke who dug me out. He was my mother's first spirit (A/N: just go with it.). He knew my parents the best, and was constantly telling me that if my parents saw the way that I was acting they would be incredibly sad and disappointed in me. I did a lot of crying during my time with Loke, but he never cared, all he did was cry along with me, saying the pain will get better.

It took a while, but I eventually rejoined civilization. I took comfort in my spirits and trained like a madwoman with Capricorn. I went on to college and graduated at the top of my class in business. Makarov, whom I consider my grandfather now, recommended me to FTI, a newly created Lacrima trading business. Its been a long journey, but here I am; running a successful business and is one of the strongest celestial mages in the world.

"...Lucy? Lucy~?" Loke dragged out waving a hand in front of my face, successfully bringing me out of my thoughts.

I blinked a few times. "Sorry. I was just thinking about... them, and where I am now."

He smiled sadly and brought me into a hug. "It's okay. Anyway, tell me more about work... while you make me that sandwich."

We spent another hour just talking about my day and what's been going on in the Spirit World. Apparently, his relationship with Aries is going great. Aquarius and Scorpio are taking another vacation together so I shouldn't use them for a week or two. The Spirit King is planning another gala next month and is requiring every spirit to go.

"Oh the King! How is he? I haven't heard from him in a few months. Are he and the Queen still not talking?" The Queen had wanted to visit the Earth plane for a few days but the King was dead-set against it. There were thunderstorms for almost a whole week, which in theory, was supposed to be the two royal spirits arguing. Afterwards, the Queen gave him the silent treatment. I haven't heard from them since.

"Oh yes. They're doing fine," Loke continued. "He realized that he was being an "irrational old fool" and apologized to her majesty by agreeing to let her go to the human world, but only if he went with. They spent a lovely few days in the Bahamas."

"Really? They actually came to the earth plane and I didn't know about it? They didn't even say 'Hi' for crying out loud!" I was a little hurt. Sure they don't socialize with humans, but I was the exception. During my training time with Capricorn as a child, the King and Queen wanted to see what was taking up most of the zodiac keys' time. What they saw was a small human child learning how to use magic without her keys. At first they were against teaching me celestial spells, but once they learned more about me and who my mother was they conceded. Apparently they were good friends of Lilahs and had heard of her passing. Afterwards, they took it upon themselves to help me with my magic training. With their help, and many years, I easily became the strong celestial mage I wanted be. They kind of became my second set of parents, not that they could ever replace the first.

"Well, they knew that you would be busy trying to take care of your company, so they didn't want to impose. And to be honest, did you really want to see the King in hawaiian shorts?" He joked.

I laughed. "Yeah, you've got a point." I looked over at the clock on the wall, and sighed. "It's getting late and I have work tomorrow. I can't have Gray and Natsu screwing up another shipment. I'll see you later?"

He smiled, "Yeah, I'll come by tomorrow again." He hugged me one last time.  
"Night, Loke," I yawned.

"Goodnight princess." Then there was a bright golden light and he was gone. Once more in the Spirit World.

I made my way over to the kitchen table to look at the mail. I had a bill that needed to be paid, a holiday card from Makarov and Laxus. I smiled looking at their corny cards. I needed get their presents wrapped up; Christmas was only a 9 days away after all.

I moved onto the package. It was strange. There was no return address, just my name scribbled on it. I picked it up and was surprised that such a small box could be so heavy. I shook it a little and heard a small beep. Curious, I brought it over to the kitchen counter and opened the knife drawer. Grabbing a small, but sharp peeling knife (A/N: take THAT Stuvengia!), I started to cut through the tape holding it shut. Once that was done, I opened the box to see some sort of machine. It had flashing lights, a button marked "Press" and a weird nozzle sticking out.

There was a loud knocking at my door, but I ignored it, thinking it could wait a minute. Curiosity got the better of me, and I pressed the button. I know that was stupid, a strange box is mailed to you and the first thing you do is press the button marked "Press". Yeah not the smartest thing in the world. Immediately a white smoke shot out of the nozzle, into my face and a loud beep filled the apartment.

_Oh King, that stuff reeks_! I had inhaled a lot of the smoke and was kind of nauseous now. I went to grab my phone, which was in my pocket, and call Laxus to see if he knew what this was; He was good with electronics and what not. But when I reached for my phone, the whole world tilted and that wave a nausea increased ten fold.

There was a loud bang that sounded like crashing. I spun around to face it but practically fell over when the world tilted again. It was then that I realized the world wasn't tilting, I was.

I've been drugged. That thought scared the life out of me. I'd never done drugs before and I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't even know who drugged me. Fear and anger filled me. Fear for the unknown and anger for those who caused it.

There was something that sounded like many people running toward me. My body had started to go numb, and the only reason I knew that I'd been picked up was the feeling of flying and seeing furniture fly past me. I couldn't call up my magic or grab my keys to help me. I could feel the drug seeping into my mind now. The world started to go dark when I was put in a vehicle.

_Fuck, I'm being kidnapped._

)::*::(

The world came back to me in a splash. Literally. Ice cold water was dumped on me and I yelled. A cold laughter filled the cement room I was in. I looked around to see a woman throwing a now empty bucket to the side. She had red hair and was fairly tall. She wore a strange armored suit with a crest on the chest. Ex-quip mage.

Slowly, I realized that I was tied to a chair, but my legs were free. A bare lightbulb hung above me. I took a quick inventory and angrily realized that my keys were gone. Bastards took them. Without direct contact with my keys, my spirits wouldn't know that I was in trouble. I could probably use some spells to get out of here, but I had to wait for my chance. I had a pounding headache, left over from the drugs.

Drugs! Shit, how long have I been out?

I didn't have any time to mull over this information before she threw another bucket of cold water on me. I gasped for breath as the cold seeped into my skin and glared at the woman.

"Wh-what t-t-the hel-ll?" I shivered. I was clearly awake so why did she use two buckets?

She shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world. "I had two buckets. It would have been a waste."

I glared daggers at her while shivering like crazy. She smirked and moved to the steel door. She banged her fist on it two times and moved to the side.  
With a loud creaking, a man walked in. He had dark hair with equally dark eyes and wore a finely made suit. He smiled at the woman and walked in front of me.

He squatted down so he was eye level with me. Immediately I recognized him and I felt any hope of escaping die a milli-second later.

"Yo-your-r Z-zere-ef!" I yelled/stuttered.

He was a recently-escaped criminal. Zeref was a crime boss who took over other crime boss' territory by killing them with his magic. He'd taken over most of Japan's territory and was moving on to the continent's territories. His magic was incredibly dangerous and should be treated with the utmost cation. However caught him must have been incredibly powerful. And probably dead now that he's escaped I couldn't help but think. But what in the hell did he want with me?

He smiled. "So you know who I am? Good, that'll make this easier for me."  
I shivered, not from the cold but from the hidden threat that was, oh, so obvious.

He stood back up. "Do you know why you're here?"

"N-no."

He leaned forward, searching my eyes, to see if I was lying. He must have seen something because he sighed.

"You're telling the truth, but at the same time you're lying, you just don't know it."

At this point the shivers got less violent and I could talk straight. "What are you talking about? I don't know why I'm here!" I yelled.

He glanced down at me like I was just an insignificant pest crawled on the floor. But he sighed again and said, "You're here because I'm looking for someone. Someone you know. The same someone who put me in prison for almost 18 years!" He started getting angrier and expelling some magic at the same time. His magic made my skin crawl with the promise of pain. I took a sharp breath as his magic started to burn me.

At my intake of breath he snapped out of whatever angry memory he was in and reined in his magic. He cleared his throat, "Sorry. It is difficult to keep control of powerful magic, sometimes leaks just happen. Anyway, back to business."

He grabbed my throat with lightning speed ad lifted me up, chair and all. "Where is he?"

"Where's who?" I barely managed to say.

He growled, getting angrier. "Your father! Where is your father!"

So... rate and review :)

-KW


	2. Chapter 2

**I forgot to mention that I do not own Fairy Tail before... I don't own it. Ummm... as far as my other story goes... sorry I had up to chapter 5 done on Rise of the Dragon Queen but then my iPad had to updated and it deleted all of my documents... apparently its all on the cloud and my teacher says that I can't restart the damn thing to get those documents back. Sorry. I'm still distraught and I will try to get a few chapters in before christmas. SORRY!**

Chapter 1

What? There has to be some kind of mistake. Anything, everything! Why would he be looking for my father? I was too surprised and shocked and confused to answer him.  
I guess Zeref got impatient because the next thing I knew I was across the room and the chair I was tied to was broken into large splinters. I had a few cuts and bruises and a major headache, probably a mix of the drugs and hitting the wall.  
Zeref was walking toward me with blatant anger in his eyes.  
I panicked and the yelled the first thing that came to my mind, which... was a spell.  
"METEOR RUSH!" (A/N: I don't know any latin so you get english spells! :D )  
Bright streaks of light burst from my hands and sped toward Zeref. He was caught off guard and couldn't create any defenses. He slammed back into the wall with a loud cracking, breaking through the cement wall and into another cell, a large cloud of dust filled the room, obscuring my view of him. A quick glance at the red headed woman told me that she was too shocked to move.  
I moved to a standing position just in time to hear maniacal laughter coming from the cement pile. He stood up, his suit covered in dust and there was a small trickle of blood coming from his forehead.  
He smiled crazily, "You!" he pointed at me, and laughed again. "Who would have thought!" More laughter. "That a celestial mage, could have their own power!" He continued to laugh like it was the funniest thing in the world. "They normally just rely on these stupid things." He laughed, pulling out a set of keys from one of the suits pockets. But not just any keys, my keys. My celestial keys. He laughed even harder when he saw the fear on my face.  
"I take it that you know what happens when a key is destroyed, right?" He smiled threateningly. He didn't wait for an answer, just raised his hand and allowed black fire to fill it. "As the Celestial King once told the world long ago, 'Destroy the key, destroy the Spirit.' or something along those lines right." He started to move his hands toward my keys.  
"Don't hurt them!" I pleaded.  
He stopped and smiled, knowing that he'd won. "All right, now here is how it will work. You will answer all of my questions truthfully. If not," he jingled my keys. "You get the point." He turned to the red-headed woman. "Erza, find a rune maker."  
The woman nodded, knocked on the door again, waited a moment for the door to open and left.  
He turned back to me. "First question: Where is Jude? Where is your father?" He added, as if I didn't know who Jude Heartfilia was.  
I glared back at him. "He's dead."  
He frowned. "I said no lying." He brought his hand back up and filled it with black flame.  
"No! Stop! He really is dead!" I didn't realize that I'd started crying. "He died, 15 years ago. He was shot on his way home. Please, please don't hurt them. I'm telling the truth. I swear."  
He stayed silent for a few moments, watching as I cried, pleading for my spirits, until he said, "Next question," and put his hand back down.  
"What is your relationship with Makarov?"  
Confused, I said "He took me in when my dad died."  
"Does Makarov ever talk about work?"  
"No." Makarov was incredibly secretive about his work, even when he was drinking with Cana, his neighbor.  
"Did Jude?"  
"No, I barely saw him when I was a kid."  
He mulled this over for a minute and smiled. I was starting to dread those smiles. "Well then, you were a very protected child weren't you?" He said sarcastically.  
Too confused to care about cation, I asked, "About what?"  
He laughs again, shaking his head, "I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, now would I."  
I jumped at the loud creaking of the door, as it opened again. Erza and another man came in.  
Zeref smiled as they came in. "Mucho so good to see you again (A/N: semi-insignificant character, gave him a crappy name, sorry)."  
Mucho inclined his head, "I'm delighted that you require my services again."  
Services?  
Zeref tossed the keys to Erza, who caught them one handed. He then crouched down in front of me and grabbed my chin in one hand and my hands with the other. He then forced a kiss on me, sticking his tongue in my mouth. Before I could bit him he pulled back. I spit at his feet, trying to get the vile taste of him out. He laughed. "We are going to have best of times together. I just know it. And hopefully by Christmas, I'll have a present for you." He patted my cheek twice and stood up. Facing the two others in the room he said, "Put the runes on her wrist, Erza hold her down, you know how it hurts." He then knocked on the door. As it opened he turned back to Erza, "Give her the keys when this is done, she may as well have something to hold onto, not that she'll be able to use them for a while." And with that he laughed some more and left.  
I turned back to the other two people in the cell with me. Erza started walking toward me, while Mucho hung back. In a last ditch effort, I tried a spell, "METEOR RUSH!"  
Streaks of light burst from my hands again and rushed Erza. Silver light shined from the ground under her and she yelled, "Ex-quip: Shield!" My attack was now bouncing of a metallic shield and breaking down more of the wall from earlier.  
I was about to send another attack, when she Ex-quipped again and disappeared.  
Where is she? Was my last thought before I was thrown into the wall and held in place by someones body pressing into mine. I turned and caught a glance of red ha. Erza.  
"Mucho! Get over here, now!" Erza yelled.  
Mucho scrambled over and took something out of his pocket. It was a pen.  
"Oh King. NO! Stop, please!" I cried.  
Mucho smirked, "Sorry, orders are orders." He grabbed my right wrist and started drawing runes.  
The pain was unbelievable. It was like something was tearing me apart at the seams and building a steel wall in between the two. In a way, he was. He was bottling up my magic with runes.  
I screamed in pain. Hoping against hope that someone would help me. When he was done, my entire hand was bloody and it had a ring of black runes around my wrist, but the pain lingered. Even if I were to get out of here, find another rune maker to take the rune magic off, the runes themselves would always be there because that kind of magic always scarred a person.  
I slumped to the ground, cradling my wrist to my chest. I glared at them and was surprised to see Erza, offer me the keys. I know that Zeref said to give them to me, but I didn't expect her to be civil about it.  
Keeping to caution, I slowly grabbed my keys. When my eyes fell onto her wrist I gasped. Faded black runes circled her wrist as well. I looked into her eyes and saw that they held nothing but regret and pain in them.  
She whispered, "I didn't know he was going to do this." She closed her eyes, recomposing herself. When she re-opened them, they were again the uncaring eyes they were before. Before she turned around she whispered, "If you're half as powerful as he boasts, you'll have no trouble calling for help." And with that she left., sealing the steel door behind her.  
I was so confused. Who's boasting? Why is Zeref looking for my dead father? Why does he care about his job? Why am I here? What in the hell is happening?!  
But that didn't matter right now. I grabbed Loke's key and immediately a golden light filled the room. Thank the King that the Zodiacs can summon themselves. Loke burst from the Spirit World, worry all over his face. When he saw me, his worry turned to anger and confusion, but he still ran and hugged me.  
After I cried my heart out on his shoulder, I answered all of his questions as best I could. He asked Virgo for help cleaning my wrist. I told her not to bandage it, so they wouldn't suspect anything in case they came back. After calming down for a few moments, I asked Virgo if she could dig through the cement. She placed her hand on the ground and said that there was a layer of metal she couldn't dig through. I thanked her anyway and sent her back to the Spirit World for Capricorn.  
He appeared in a puff of white smoke. "Lucy-sama, are you alright?" His suit was as crisp as always and his sunglasses were in place.  
"I'll live, thank you. Listen this will be tricky, You're the fastest so I need you to find out where I am and tell Makarov that I've been kidnapped by a man named Zeref, tell him that he's looking for the man who imprisoned him and thinks I know. The faster I get out of here, the better."  
"So why don't you use your magic to get of here, Lucy-sama?" He asked.  
Ashamed, I held up my wrist.  
I could see his whole demeanor change. "Oh Lucy-sama..." He started, but then stopped. "I will finish the task you have given me with the upmost care." And with that he poof-ed and was gone.  
I asked Loke to stay with me, seeking comfort from him. We sat against the wall, with his arms wrapped around me while I leaned on his shoulder, just waiting. Loke didn't want to leave me alone so we agreed that if Zeref came back, Loke would hide in the next cell over, the one with the semi-broken wall and would only come out if I called for him.  
It was a short while later that I decided to ask him pointless questions that neither of us had answers to. But I had so many that I didn't know which one to ask first. Eventually I just picked one at random.  
"Why do you think Zeref is looking for my dad?" I whispered.  
He was silent for a moment before he said, "There are things about your father that you can't know about him. Things that would put you in danger if you knew." He gaffed. "Fat lot of good that did you." He said looking around.  
What did he mean by that? I was about to ask another question when the door started to open. Loke jumped up and ran into the other cell. My heart was hammering with adrenaline. A sliver of doubt went through my mind. What if hiding him doesn't work?  
I kept my expression neutral as Zeref entered. He wore a new suit, still black but not covered in dust. He looked like he was ready to kill someone. Hopefully not me.  
He started pacing in front of me, shooting glances at me, looking at my wrist, then looking away then back again.  
I couldn't take it anymore. "What?" I snapped.  
He stopped and glared at me. "Someone has alerted the authorities of our whereabouts. They are currently waiting for authorization to storm this factory. However, the only thing I'm wondering about is how they found out our location considering only 5 people who know about it, well 4 now if my theory is right, and all of them are here."  
I sent up a silent thank you to Capricorn, but remained neutral. "So what are you doing here?"  
He frowned at me. "Testing my theory. Spears of Pain." Liquid pain shot through my body, making me fall over and writhe in pain. I screamed for all I was worth, pleading with the pain to stop, but nothing. The pain kept coming and coming. Then suddenly it was gone. At first I thought that Loke had stepped in but no. Zeref was still standing but was listening for something off in the distance. After a moment, I listened too.  
At first there was nothing, but then, faintly, I could here... something. What is that? Apparently, Zeref had no trouble identifying the noise, because growled in anger and said a few choice curses about how they had to send him.  
In the end he said, "We're leaving." He came forward to grab me but I slapped his hand away. He growled and again tried to pick me up. My body was still stiff from the torment it received not moments ago, but I still managed to fight him off. "No! I'm not going with you! LOKE!"  
A bright, golden fist slammed into Zeref's face, launching him into the door, denting it a little. That sound from earlier was getting louder and I could finally discern what it was- the sound of metal grinding on metal followed by a crash. I only had time to move into the second cell when the steel door crashed inward, right into the spot where I had been not 2 seconds before..  
A man filled the doorframe. He had long, thick black hair and piercings everywhere. Not that it looked bad, if anything, it look... kind of hot. He wore black jeans with a leather jacket thrown over a tight, white t-shirt, showing of incredibly detailed-  
Oh King! Why am I having these kind of thoughts now in the middle of an escape attempt.  
The man quickly glanced around the room and found what he was looking for, Zeref and Loke. He jumped in on the fight. At first, I thought he was helping Zeref but then the man punched square in the jaw. The look on the man's face was of pure joy as Zeref's head snapped to the side. I couldn't help but cheer him on. I ran back into the first cell and towards the door. I made it about 5 steps when a sharp pain slid into my right shoulder. I cried out and looked. A silver knife was now embedded into my shoulder. I looked at the guys and saw Zeref smiling with satisfaction, Loke looked like he wanted to stop what he was doing and help me but at the same time rip Zeref to shreds, and the unknown man... looked worried.  
While everyone was more or less distracted for the moment, Zeref yelled, "Shadow Field," and a dark cloud of magic pushed both men off of him. Loke crashed into a wall and the stranger landed in a crouch in front of me. Zeref stood up, his face a mask of blood, glared at the man before looking at me. "A parting gift," he gestured to the knife. "But just know that this won't be the last time we see each other. I still haven't spent that fun time with you I promised." His eyes raked over me in a disturbingly hungry manner. I gave him a look of disgust before he laughed, said an incantation and disappeared with a black puff of smoke.  
Loke struggled to get up, from his position- Zeref really did a number on him. Meanwhile the other man was turning around to face me. I gasped, I was hit with an intense feeling of having seen this man before, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out where.  
He stuck his gloved hand out, silently offering me help up. I raised my arm and cried out, grabbing my shoulder. The knife was still in my shoulder. Oh, King there's a KNIFE IN my shoulder!  
The man winced like he forgot.  
Yeah, well I forgot too, so don't feel bad, I thought. He went behind me and gently moved my blond hair out of the way.  
"You're going to need stitches and the knife has to come out now o it doesn't cause anymore damage." He said in a deep voice.  
Shaking a little, I nodded my head and braced myself.  
He laid his hand just below my shoulder blade and put the other on the knife. "Ready?"  
I nodded quickly.  
And before I knew it, he pulled.  
"HOLY SHIT!" I screamed. The pain was indescribable and lasted a good minute afterwards until I could focus on something else. Like the hand that was rubbing soothing circles on my back.  
I needed a distraction. "Who are you?" I asked.  
There was a moment of silence then, "Special Agent Gajeel Redfox. DME."  
Special Agent? DME? (A/N: Department of Magical Enforcement) Gramps must known someone in the higher ups of the government to send a Special Agent.  
"Okay, Special Agent. Do you think you can get me out of here and to a hospital?"  
There was a low laugh and suddenly Gajeel was crouching down his back facing me.  
"What are you doing?" I asked skeptically.  
"What's it look like?" He growled back like it was obvious.  
"It looks like..." I trailed off, realizing that that was what he wanted. "You're joking right?!"  
He glared over his shoulder, "Does it look like I joke?"  
I glared back. "I can walk. It was only my arm that was hurt. I'm not some fragile glass ornament that'll break under a little pressure."  
"Ke, and how do you plan to walk up 3 flights of stairs with an injured arm?" He rolled his eyes.  
Oh King, 3 flights? Whatever, I can deal. I stood up, a little to fast, and slipped on a rock. I started falling forward, when I crashed into a rock hard chest. I looked up into blazing red eyes staring back at me. I gulped, "Sorry." I pushed myself off with my good arm and looked around. Loke was gone so he must have gone back to heal himself. I sighed. Well it looks like I'm stuck with this guy for a while. I turned toward Gajeel, "Lead the way."  
He smirked, "What? You don't know the way out?"  
I glared back at him, "No, I don't. I woke up in here. Now if you'd be so kind as to- Oh King! What the hell are you doing? Put me DOWN!" I yelled.  
He had picked me up and gently put me over his shoulder and started walking. With my good arm, which just so happened to be my awkward left one, I tried to shove myself off of him, but he just tightened his grip on me. I gasped slightly from his grip on me, it still ached from Zeref's earlier torture.  
Gajeel noticed my gasp and stopped walking, "What's wrong?"  
I couldn't help the streak of sarcasm in my voice, "Oh absolutely nothing! Just the fact that I was kidnapped in my own home, held captive and tortured by the most wanted criminal in Japan, I can't use my magic because of a stupid rune block, because of said man, and now I'm be carried like a sack of potatoes!" I yelled.  
He was quiet for a moment, then he mumbled quietly, "Sorry." And kept walking.  
I huffed, but I accepted it. He didn't look like the type to apologize easily, so I'd take it. I pouted and tried to remain angry with this man and at the same time not notice how he smelled of earth.  
We had just passed the second floor when he asked, "If you have a magic block on you, how'd you get your spirit in our world?"  
I smiled even though he couldn't see it. "Loke and I have a special bond. This may sound like bragging but its true. He was my mothers first spirit, so he's known me my whole life. He practically became my father/ older brother when my dad died. It was because of that that he became in tune with my feelings, only when I'm holding his key can he feel them. It's like that with a few of my spirits. Zeref thought that after the block was on me, I could have my keys without any consequences. Idiot."  
Gajeel snorted.  
"What? It's true. He should have known that the Zodiac keys can summon themselves as they see fit. And how did you know that Loke was a spirit?" I asked turning the questions onto him.  
He shrugged, "He smelt differently than a normal human."  
I was confused, and kind of weirded out, even though I'd been doing the same thing not three minutes ago, "Smelt differently? You smelled him?"  
He chuckled, "I'm a dragon slayer."  
Oh, that explained a lot, including the smelling. "Really? What's your element?" I asked getting excited. Dragon slayers were rare and I had only met two beforehand.  
I couldn't see his face but I knew that he'd be arrogantly smiling. "It's iron."  
"Cool. I only know two dragon slayers. I work with one of them. His name is Natsu Drag-"  
"Ha! That bastard! He's nothing but a hotheaded gecko!" He continued to laugh.  
I felt my irritation grow. "And you're a troll! But I bet that 'gecko' could wipe the floor with you."  
He chuckled, "You wish."  
I growled back at him.  
Finally we made it outside. Turns out we were in an old shoe factory. Half of the roof was caved in, most of the windows were broken, and the smell of leather was still in the air. A gray jeep was waiting in front of the door, the head lights still on.  
Still holding me, he opened the passenger side door and slid me in. Immediately, I was hit with more of that earth scent. After I settled into a comfortable position, Gajeel reached over and buckled me in. I almost complained that I could do it myself but my arm started throbbing even more.  
Gajeel climbed into the jeep, reached into his pocket, pulled out a gun and put it in the glove department. I was staring at him wide eyed. He just shrugged it off and put the jeep in drive.  
I was starting to get really tired. Must be the blood loss. My work outfit from yesterday was now covered in dust and blood, completely ruined. I leaned my head against the cool window when something occurred to me.  
Without turning I said, "My name's Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."  
He was silent for a long while. I started dozing off. I'm not sure but I thought I heard him say, "I know," right before I gave into unconsciousness.

**Another thing, I am now requiring at least 5 reviews EVERY chapter before I update the next one. Sorry but how am I ever going to know that the story is good if nobody but two people let me know. Thank you very much to the two people who have reviewed, I appreciate it very much.**

-KW


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**A/N: So... I'd like to thank those who did review this story, I really needed that enthusiasm. Even though I didn't get 5 reviews for that chapter I have a total of 5 reviews for the whole thing. (Siac-nee, strawhat1227, Deathsembrace137, Dark-Otaku-One-Of-Many, H8rslovemecauseI'mawesome were my amazing reviewers) You clever people have found a loophole... eh, not really but I'm giving you guys a bone, so ENJOY it! By the way, I hope you enjoy the way the chapter ends because I was laughing my a** off when I was writing it. And NO she doesn't swing that way, I just thought it would be funny, AND I WAS RIGHT! Hahaha, poor Wendy. By the way the next chapter wont be in Lucy's point of view but in Gajeel's. Just thought I'd warn you beforehand.**

I woke up in a hospital.  
In certain situations, someone could have panicked at this knowledge. For example, they could have fumbled out of bed, not realizing they were only wearing a hospital gown-and that it was barely tied-ran down the hall, punching a nurse in the nose, breaking it-good thing she was already in a hospital-only to be tackled by the guy who saved you from a psychotic criminal before you could hurt the nurse's friend. All the while, you're trying to use your magic, but you forgot that its been temporarily locked away, which causes you to go into an even more frantic state.  
So, yeah. Some people panic when they're in a hospital. Unfortunately, that "some people" just so happens to be me. The doctor said that the reason behind my behavior was because the painkillers were messing with my brain, and that it was normal to be disoriented when it starts to wear off. I say its because I have two dead parents who ended up in the hospital morgue, but nobody listens to the girl who's high on painkillers.  
They moved my room to a more "private" wing to better suit my "situation". Basically they moved me to a concrete room with a bed welded to the wall-it even came with restraints-where Gajeel was sitting/leaning against the door with his eyes closed, while he waited for his boss to get here so I could be interrogated. I kept trying to ask who his boss was but he just said that I'd find out when he got here.  
While we waited, I kept glancing at my wrist. Or more specifically, the runes that decorated my wrist. The drugs had diluted the pain to a dull throbbing, however, slivers of doubt kept shooting through my mind. What if I couldn't find a rune maker? What if this was permanent? What if-  
"Oh King! I've been so stupid!" I ran over to Gajeel. "Can I borrow your phone?"  
Without opening an eye he said, "No."  
I was starting to tear up, I was so close to an answer to my problems. I tried again, "I need to call someone. Please, I need this."  
He opened an eye, "Why?"  
A lone tear went down my face, shamefully I turned away and held up my hand, showing my rune marked wrist. "I think I know someone who can help me get this off."  
I turned back to face him when I heard him shuffling. He placed a slim, black flip phone in my hand. He closed his eyes again and went back in that meditative state from before. I felt a smile light up my face. "Thank you!" I said and kissed him on the cheek.  
I turned around before he could see my blush. I'd never done something- no, anything, like that before, and to a perfect stranger! I blushed another shade of red as I dialed the number. He picked up on the fourth ring.  
"Hello? Who is this?" A grumpy, masculine voice said.  
"LAXUS! Thank the King! It's me, Lucy."  
"Lucy!? Where are you? Everyone's been worried sick since you didn't show up to work or answer your phone. Gramps has been in his office making calls since he heard you couldn't be reached. He only left a little while ago. I went to your apartment, but the police wouldn't let me in, saying that it was a crime scene. Nobody's telling me anything! Where are you? I'll come get you."  
I almost laughed at his display of overprotectiveness. It was so good to hear his voice. "I can't explain now, but I need you to pick up your friend, the one that does rune magic, Freed, I think, and come to the Cait Shelter Hospital."  
"Jesus, Lucy. What happened?" His voice strained.  
"I'll explain when you get here."  
I heard him grumble, "Fine, I'll be there in a few minutes." He hung up. He'd probably hit every red light on the way here.  
My heart was pounding. They're really coming.  
I turned around to hand the phone back but ran into a solid wall of muscle. I looked up to see Gajeel's red eyes glaring down at me.  
The room was suddenly 10 degrees warmer. I felt my face go a deep red. I gulped, "Here's your phone."  
He glared another moment at me but then took the phone back. "Who'd you call?" He snapped as he sat back down again.  
"My brother," I said, trying to hide my blush.  
I went and sat on the bed, looking at anything but him.  
He snorted, "Yeah? Would you care to elaborate on that answer."  
I felt a twinge of irritation at his sarcasm but answered anyway. "Lazus Dreyar. He's the son of the man who pretty much adopted me after my dad died."  
He looked confused for a second but regained his composure so fast I though I'd imagined it. He looked like he was about to say something, when there was a knock on the door.  
I stood up as Gajeel opened to door. Gajeel blocked my view of the man, but between the few words they shared, I assumed that this was his boss.  
Taking a deep breath, I readied myself for the questioning to begin. Only to lose that breath as Gajeel moved out of the way, and I saw his boss in a familiar suit and a stupidly, stripped hat.  
I was too stunned to speak. My mind was running a million miles a second to try and process everything. Gajeel's boss was... Makarov. Makarov was Gajeel's boss. Gajeel was a Special Agent. Makarov and my Dad... They worked in the same department of government. Zeref wanted to know about Makarov's and my Dad's work, which I knew absolutely nothing about. Suddenly everything just clicked and made perfect sense. Oh, King.  
I fell to my knees. This couldn't be happening. Not to me.  
"...ucy? The important thing is that you need to remain calm." Makarov was trying to say. I didn't even realize he was talking. "Take a deep breath and I'll explain everything."  
That made me angry; He was treating me like a stupid child about to do something dangerous. I was going to do something dangerous, but that didn't make me stupid.  
I stood up and charged him. I took about three and a half steps before strong arms wrapped around my waist. I snarled, and banged on the studded arms. Gajeel was holding me back from the man who had allowed me to live with him and practically adopted me, without telling me the dangers.  
Makarov didn't looked the slightest bit scared, just worried, which made me angrier. "If you'd just calm down, I will ex-"  
I stopped fighting and laughed cruelly, "Explain what? That you and my father worked as special agents? That you both put away dangerous criminals for a living and neither of you deemed it fit to tell me! That I could be in danger! Like last night? You better thank the King that I can't use my magic or call my spirits right now, otherwise I wouldn't be holding anything back."  
Makarov sighed. "I understand that you're angry-"  
"Oh, I'm not angry. I'm furious. How could you keep something like this from me?" I was so angry that I actually bared my teeth at him and growled. In case it wasn't mentioned before, Heartfilias were famous for their tempers. Right now, just so happens to be one of the rare times I lose my cool. I started clawing at the muscled arm holding me back. I was pretty close to bitting it when a deep voice whispered in my ear, "You need to calm down."  
Deep down, I wanted to disobey. I wanted to make Makarov regret not telling me the truth, but that voice... That voice was like a cool wave of water to the raging fires of my heart. I felt that rage, the same rage that was famously hard to tame, stop. Just like that, gone. I felt my body go slack in his arms as he lifted me up and took me to the bed. He tried to get me to lay down but I refused and just sat on the bed. After a moment he sat down next to me, his earthy scent wafting around me like a warm blanket. Taking a deep breath of his scent, I turned to Makarov.  
He looked shocked beyond belief. He even had his mouth hanging open, his eyes darted between the both of us like he couldn't believe what he just saw. The sight would have been comical in a different situation. He quickly shook his head, and smiled broadly, like he knew something that we didn't. "Now that we're all calm, I can explain.  
"It's true. Your father and I were Special Agents working together as partners for almost 20 years. We put international criminals in prison, escorted ambassadors to and fro countries and on rare occasions, take down crime bosses, like we did Zeref 18 years ago." He stopped letting that information sink in.  
I couldn't help the streak of doubt in my voice. "Are you telling me, that my boring, conservative dad helped arrest Zeref? That's the most farfetched thing I've heard all evening, no, my life!"  
He smiled, looking off into the distance, "I know, but it's true. However, he did more than that. He planned and executed Zeref's arrest single-handedly. He truly was incredible in his prime. His passing was truly devastating."  
It still seemed unlikely, but it did somewhat explain why Zeref wanted my dad, but that didn't explain... "Why did he think my dad was still alive?"  
Makarov just shrugged his shoulders and sighed, "I wish I knew." He walked over to the bed and grabbed my right hand. He touched the runes, "I truly am sorry, my dear. Jude's greatest wish was that you know nothing of his work life. When your mother died, he wanted to spend more time with you, so he took a desk job with the occasional field job. He wanted to quit altogether but the job kept pulling him back in, requiring more of his skills. Then the Zeref case came. He took it and within a month he had Zeref in cuffs. Zeref was sentenced to life but he vowed to escape and take his revenge on Jude.  
"Now that he's escaped, he'll eventually find out that Jude is gone. However, he still has his sights on you, so now we need to move you to a more secure location. One where he can-"  
"Wait," I interrupted. "You mean move? I can't move. I have work, an-and that new deal. I can't miss this, you know that." I pleaded.  
Makarov chuckled, "I know, that's why you'll be staying with one of the agents living in the city and still go to work." He turned to Gajeel and smiled. "Special Agent Redfox, you are now on a temporary leave to look after Lucy."  
He sprang up, already I missed his comforting earthy smell, his face red with anger, "What! Why am I on leave?"  
Makarov gave him an exasperated look, "You know why. Even though I am incredibly grateful that you saved Lucy, you still disobeyed orders. You should have waited until there was backup."  
Gajeel let loose a low, threatening growl. "If we had waited, Zeref would have escaped with her. I couldn't just let him take off with her, knowing that Hea-" He was stopped mid sentence by a suddenly large fist squeezing him.  
Makarov had used his magic to allow himself to grow as tall the room would let him, effectively making himself taller than everyone in the room. His eyes sparked with white light as he glared down at Gajeel. In a thunderous voice he yelled, "We will discuss this later! Is that understood?"  
Gajeel glared back at him and nodded.  
And just like that, Makarov returned to his normal size and was all smiles again. Gajeel just growled and sat by me again, plopping down on the bed so hard, I bounced up a good two feet and practically landed on him. I felt my face turn a few shades of red as I tried to pull myself off of him. He too was trying in vain to untangle himself from me. The entire time, I could have sworn I heard laughing.  
When we finally untangled ourselves, we were both red faced and avoiding eye contact. I looked up to see Makarov trying to hide his smile. So he was laughing!  
"Now that your both done playing around, you can start to discuss your living arrangements. Lucy, I will speak to you again once you've settled down later."And with that, he turned toward the door. Right before he closed the door he turned back to me, "One more thing Lucy, Laxus knows about my current job as head of the DME, however, he doesn't know about my previous work for the DME. I'd appreciate it, if you could keep it that way."  
I frowned at him, "You know that's not fair."  
He nodded sadly, "I know."And with that he closed the door.  
Silence filled the room until Gajeel spoke, "I have a spare room you can use."  
"Great." I tried to sound enthusiastic but even that sounded false to my ears.  
He sighed deeply and turned his entire body to face me. "Listen, I know that you don't want to live with me, but until this guy is caught, we have to keep you hidden."  
I closed my eyes and nodded. Figured as much.  
"When can I leave the hospital?"  
He smiled, "As soon as you can stop attacking nurses."  
I frowned, "Jerk! It was an accident. How was I suppose to know that she had a fragile nose?" In a sudden rage, I pushed him off the bed. He was caught off guard and tumbled off into a heap on the floor, landing on his face. I laughed so hard I felt tears in my eyes.  
He jumped up from his fall and faced me. I had time to take notice of the crazed grin on his face right before he tackled me onto the bed. He had me straddled and pinned both of my hands above my head. I blushed brightly when I realized I had nothing more than a hospital gown on, but at the same time I didn't want him to move. He seemed to be thinking along the same lines because he gave a small smile and started to lean down.  
We were too distracted by our... um, near-activity, that neither of us heard the door open until an angry voice rang out, "What the hell do you think your doing to my sister?"

A/N: I should end it here... HOWEVER... If I were to end it here, this chapter wouldn't reach my word quota, therefore, I shall elongate my word limit.

I whipped my head to look at the door. Laxus and another man with long, green hair that I recognized as Freed, stood in the doorway. Freed's face was probably as red as mine was and Laxus looked like he was ready to rip a new one. But before he could act, Gajeel leaped off of me and walked toward Laxus and Freed.  
I couldn't see his expression as he said, "Who are you, and what are you doing in here?"  
Laxus glared at him, "I believe I asked a question first."  
Gajeel pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to Laxus. "And I believe I'm the one with the police badge. I'll say it again, 'Who are you and what are you doing in here?'"  
Laxus looked dumbstruck as he stared at the badge, but then glared at Gajeel, "Well Special Agent Redfox, I am Lucy's adoptive brother, Laxus Dreyar. I am here because she went missing yesterday evening and I was worried about her."  
I smiled at this and got up from the bed and gave him a hug. He gave me a tight, bear hug in return. Inside his embrace, I felt all the emotions that I had kept bottling up since yesterday burst open in a flood of tears. All that fear and confusion came rushing to the surface and I couldn't stop the story from coming out.  
It took about 10 minutes to tell the entire story, during which, Laxus and I both ended up sitting on the floor. Gajeel was glaring at Laxus while Freed stood by the door. He gave me a shocked look when I talked about the magic block while Laxus only hugged me tighter.  
"Are you telling me that you went through the magic block with minimal brain damage?" Freed asked, incredulous. "You'd have to be pretty powerful to avoid those symptoms."  
"Sure," I sniffled. "I mean, I got a few cuts and bruises but other than... Wait," I said, fully understanding what he said, "Brain damage? What do you mean brain damage? And why would I have to be powerful?"  
Freed looked uncomfortable, "Well... you see,... um..."  
Gajeel stood up from the bed and glared at Freed, "Just spit it out already!"  
Somewhere deep inside my frazzled head, a small part of me warmed up at Gajeel's display of concern, the rest of my head was thinking, BRAIN DAMAGE?!  
Is it possible to be breathing fast, yet at the same time feel like your suffocating? That's basically what I felt was happening to me. Belatedly I realized that I was having a panic attack.  
I struggled my way out of Laxus' arms and started pacing, my breath coming faster with each step. "Oh, King! What going to happen? Am I going to die? What will happen to the company? What if-" I stopped mid rant when I ran into a hard chest and heavy hands fell on my shoulders.  
I looked up and saw Gajeel looking at me with a firm expression, "You do not have brain damage! The doctors would have found it when they gave you that check up when you came in. Plus you are acting like a fully functioning human being. Therefore there is nothing wrong with you."  
Tears were in my eyes as I nodded. I bit my lip to keep from crying. Gajeel sighed and gave me a tight hug. King, I'm such an idiot. I felt fine so there couldn't be anything wrong with me. I hugged Gajeel a second longer then left his warm embrace to go sit on the bed, all the while trying to wipe the tears from my eyes. King, I've been crying a lot today.  
I nodded to Freed to let him finish what he was saying before I had my panic attack. He cleared his throat, clearly looking uncomfortable, and continued, "Well, the magic block is a complex piece of magic. Thats why its illegal to use. For some reason, when its used on weak and often times average mages, it causes brain damage. They aren't able to fully function by themselves and they lose the ability to use their magic permanently. They become a sort of... shell, of their former selves. However," He rushed when he saw my fearful expression, "Stronger mages, like yourself, will experience no symptoms what so ever."  
King, what did that man do to me? I immediately thought of that woman, Erza, and how she seemed perfectly fine even though she had the same runes as me. She must be pretty strong as well. "Will anything happen when its taken off?" I asked hesitantly.  
He shifted his weight from his left foot to the right. Oh, I know what that means. I'd seen it before with Natsu and Gray when I asked if they'd finished shipments even though I knew they didn't and they were trying to think of an easy way to tell me. King, what more could happen?  
"Well... it'll make you highly emotional for a few hours. So if you're seeing anyone, its best that you avoid them. People have been known to... give in to their urges afterwards and have no ability to stop it." He and Laxus both glanced at Gajeel, but I hardly noticed because I was too busy blushing like a madwoman.  
Oh King, I can't believe I made him say that in front of him. I could care less about Laxus hearing it, but Gajeel? I won't be able to stop myself if my magic induced high does something I don't want to do. Well... Do I not want that? He's pretty hot, and to be honest not a bad guy even with his irritatingly loud mouth. But judging by our earlier activity- blush- he wanted it too, even if it was a heat of the moment thing.  
I inhaled deeply, trying to calm my frantic heart. "Okay. Take the block off. Now. I want to be able to use my magic as soon as possible."  
Laxus swung his head to me, worried, "Are you sure? I mean, don't you want to wait until you're home that way gramps and I can look out for you?"  
I shook my head, "I'm not going home home with you. I'm staying with Gajeel."  
He stood up, fury written all over his face, and yelled, "You mean you're staying with this guy? Why? You barely know him! You met him what, 7 hours ago? Who in the hell told you to stay with him?"  
I looked away, suddenly having a hard time to form words. However, Gajeel apparently didn't have this problem, "My Captain did," He glared down at Laxus. "You might know him. I call him Captain Dreyar, but I believe you call him grandfather." He sneered.  
I was about to snap at Gajeel for being rude, but before I could utter a word, Laxus had tackled Gajeel to the ground.  
I stared, wide eyed, as Laxus punched Gajeel square in the temple. Gajeel just laughed and raised his fist. Just before it made contact, it flashed a grayish-silver. What was that?  
Laxus was literally lifted off of Gajeel and sent flying across the room into the cement wall. He slumped to the ground and didn't move again. I let out a startled yelp as Freed and I ran to him.  
Thank the King, he's still breathing! I gently laid his head down and turned to glare at Gajeel. "Why did you hit him so hard? Better yet, how did you?" I yelled.  
He shrugged and raised the hand that he hit him with. At first, I didn't understand, but then I remembered what he'd said earlier.  
Dragon Slayer.  
"You turned your entire arm into iron? That could have killed him!" I yelled as I ran up and punched him.  
He grabbed both of my hands before I could hit him again and spun me around so that my arms were crossed and useless. I didn't even try to get out. I just huffed and let my anger for him simmer. He leaned down next to my ear, "You knew that he wasn't going to let you take that block off. And I knew that he's an irrational and if angered, could be taken out temporarily. Now, if you'd like to get your magic back, I suggest you do it now while he finishes up his nap." And with that he let me go.  
Begrudgingly, I knew that he was right and that this was my chance, but that didn't make his actions okay. I glared at him as we both sat on the bed. Freed was already waiting there, having heard our fight and left Laxus for a moment.  
I held up my arm and he gently took it in his left hand while holding a rune pen in his right one. "Ready?" He asked.  
I took a deep breathe and nodded. The pen touched my skin and started moving.  
I yelped in pain. It felt as though there was fire entering my skin where the pen touched. My left hand shot out, searching for something, anything to distract me from the pain. Suddenly a hand gripped mine. It was hard and definitely bigger than mine, but it was comforting all the same. I squeezed with as much force as I could muster and it squeezed back.  
After what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes, the pain stopped and I felt a huge wave of something sweep over me. It was so overpowering that I let out a small, but loud gasp. King, what is that? The wave soon settled down into a familiar place in my chest. Smiling to myself, I realized it was my magic. You're back!  
I giggled, suddenly happy. Ridiculously happy if I do say so myself. What a weird word: ridiculously. And just like that I started laughing.  
I don't know how long I kept laughing but I stopped when I heard a hesitant, "Lucy?"  
That one word made me realize that I wasn't alone in the room. I looked in the direction it came from and saw Gajeel looking a me. He seemed concerned. Aww, what a sweetie.  
I smiled at him, "It's back. My magic, it's back!"  
He smiled. It was a small smile, but still a smile. "That's great, but... How do you feel?"  
Awww, he's concerned. How cute. "You're cute when you're worried. Did anyone tell you that?"  
His eyes widened in shock for a moment. He turned to look at Freed, who was trying to lift Laxus up from the ground. He wasn't doing a very good job; Laxus was heavy.  
Freed looked at me then back to Gajeel. "Don't worry, that's normal."  
I was confused, "What's normal and why is your hair green? Are you some cosplayer or something? I'm not judging or anything, I'm just curious. Oh, and you're never going to be able to lift him up with those twigs you call arms. Hey! Why don't you help him?" I asked enthusiastically, turning to Gajeel. "Your arms are like freaking pythons. You'll have no trouble lifting him up. And- why are you holding my hand?" I said looking down at our entwined fingers. "Not that I'm complaining. Your hand is very nice."  
Gajeel seemed to notice our hands and quickly pulled away and stood up. I stood up too and went to stand by the door. I didn't want to be the only one sitting.  
Gajeel walked over to Freed and helped him pick Laxus up and move him onto the bed. After Laxus was situated both Gajeel and Freed turned to look at me. "How long will she be like this?" Gajeel asked.  
Freed looked me up and down, "I'd say at least 4 hours, maybe 5. The stronger the mage, the longer it is, and if you felt the amount of magic being blocked, you'd be surprised it's not longer. However, if she starts doing... things, then I'm wrong and it will go on longer."  
Gajeel narrowed his eyes, "What kind of things?"  
"Well, um, her ho-horm-mones-"  
Gajeel rolled his eyes and yelled, "Just spit it out already!"  
However, before Freed could answer him, two things happened at the same time.  
First, Laxus woke up. He slammed up from his position on the bed, cursing about some pain he was feeling in his head.  
Second, a nurse walked in. She had blue hair and looked fairly young to be a nurse. "Good news!" She said, "You can go home! I just need you to sign a few things..."  
I squealed, "Laxus woke up and I can leave!" I threw my arms around the nurse. "Thank you so much!" I said right before I kissed her.  
When I pulled back a moment later, everyone was in different stages of shock. The nurse's face was a bright shade of pink, she just turned around and walked out of the room. Gajeel and Laxus were staring at me like they couldn't believe what they just saw. Freed had his hand to his forehead, as if he'd just slapped it. He grumbled, "That was what I was worried about. Her... female chemicals are on a maximum high right now, so she feels incredibly happy about everything. You can now expect this to last for a good 10 hours if she's in this kind of state."

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